Anti-inflammatory compounds are known. The inventors have recognized that a need exists to identify new combinations of anti-inflammatory compounds that provide enhanced performance.
The inventors have found that anti-inflammatory compounds known as NFκB-inhibitors, while capable of reducing immune response via the NFκB-pathway, sometimes promote the release of the inflammatory cytokine IL-1. The inventors have also found that those anti-inflammatory compounds having a strong ability to reduce the production of cytokines by human lymphocytes stimulated with the T-cell receptor (TCR) activating agent phytohaemagglutinin, particularly those with an IC50 of about 70 μg/ml or less, are capable of reducing immune responses but sometimes have a tendency to promote the release of inflammatory cytokine IL-8.
Accordingly, it has now been discovered that combinations of an NFκB-inhibitor with an anti-inflammatory compound having a low IC50, in particular an IC50 of about 70 μg/ml or less, provide compositions that surprisingly reduce the release of both inflammatory cytokines IL-1 and IL-8 from skin and other tissues, as well generally provide desirable NFκB-inhibition in skin and other tissues.